“After eight years, there was no doubt in my mind that I’d die from my eating disorder.”

In 2013 after an extreme binge which had Lindsey throwing up blood, her distraught parents intervened.

She agreed to get treatment and at rehab they helped her realise that what she saw was fake.

She said: “They did an activity called The String Test where I was asked to guest the size of my thighs with a piece of yarn.

“I measured it against the actual size of my legs and found my guess was double the size.

“I was able to finally come to terms that I just really don’t see myself clearly.”

Now the brave women is sharing her story to help others who suffer in silence.

She added: “We have got to change the prevalence of weight conversation. I’m just as tired of fat-shaming as I am of thin-shaming.

“I was constantly told that I was thin, which made me feel as though people only recognised me by my size.

“I always assumed that the moment I gained weight – like vultures – my peers would descend on me thinking ‘yes she’s finally gained weight’ and scrutinise me even harder than had I once been overweight.

“We think calling someone thin or skinny or petite, is a compliment – but all we’re really doing is further enunciating that we are noticing them by the space their body encumbers.

“I don’t think I can ever fully recover.

“I think my priorities shift in recovery, and I am better able to self-talk myself out of these BDD episodes, but I think it’s realistic to say there will always be days of struggle.”